Method and apparatus for manufacture of cushion tires



March '23 1926.

- H. WHLLSHAW METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURE OF CUSHION TIRES Filed May 28, 924

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j HARRY WILLSHAW, @F BUFFALO, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOB T0 DUNLOL TIRE AND RUB- BER COBPGBATION 01F AMERICA, 0F BUFFALO, IIEVJ YGRK, A (IQRPOBIATIGIK 05 new roan.

, METHOD AND APPARATUS B, MAHUFAGTURE 0F CUSHION TIRES.

Application filed. may 28, 1924. Serial No. 716,298.

To all whom itmay concern:

, Be it known that I, HARRY Winner-raw, a subject or the King of Great Britain, and a resident of Buiialo, in the county of Erie and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Methods and Apparatus for Manufacture oi Cushion Tires, of which the following is a specification.

This invention is in part a continuation and in part an improvement of the method disclosed in my co-pending application Serial No. 693,953 filed February 20, 1924.

' The present invention relates particularly to a method of manufacturing cushion tires ('1' the semi-solid type by the utilization of molds for shaping the tire to the desired contourand a resilient core which may be solid or semi-solid.

The invention will be understood from the following specification when read in connection with the accompanying drawings in which Fig. 1 illustrates a novel apparatus for carrying out my improved method;

Fig. 2 is a detail section of the resilient core which I employ in carrying out my method;

Fig. 3 is a detail of the core ring; and

Fig. 4 is a sectional view of a cushion tire made according to my invention.

Referring particularly to the drawings, 10 and 12 represent respectively upper and lower tire mold sections between which is located a segmental tread section 14 having suitable projections 16 thereon adapted to form indentations 18 in the tread portion of the tire 20. .The body portion 22 of the tire is extruded through suitable dies which shapes it to the cont-our shown in the drawings and is formed with a substantially circular cavity 24. The body'portion or raw rubber is placed on the vulcanite bands 26 and 26 which are molded or otherwise anchored to the metallic tire bands 28 and 28'. A core 30 is inserted through the circumferential slot32 between the tire band sections 28 and 28".

is split transverselyas at 36 is applied to the assembled core and tire and a. wedge member 38 is inserted between the adjacent ends of the core rings so as to lockithe same to the tire band. This assemblage is now placed in the lower mold 12 whereupon the segmental tread ring 14: and upper mold 10 doesaway with the necessity of a i A core ring 3e which.

This core is preferably made of resiiient ina terial and in one continuous piece. it is usually made of solid. rubber but may be in some cases provided with a small peripheral cavity 85. At any rate, the thickness and character of the material is such that the core holds its shape during the vulcanization of the cushion tire, yet it suiiiciently resilient so that when removing the same from the completed tire, the pulling oi core will slightly contract its sectionalarea so as to facilitate its easy removal. The resilient core herein referred-to has the advantage over iron cores or solid; cores such as sand and the lilgeheretofoite nsezi in that it is made in onecontinuous piece without joints which must be used in other types of cores to permit removal thereof from the tire. Jointed cores are objection able as they leave sprue ribs on the inside of the tire where the sections conic The rubber core has the additiona'i redraw tags that it is lighter in weight hence-can be handled more easily by worlzfmen than metallic cores. lhe solid core has the advantage over the inflatable core in the abovereferred to co-pend1ng application in that it Water connections and lfillfir i of the necessity of cereiuiiy right pressure to inflatable col. canization.

i i The core is error-saleable anc;

be used repeatedly and has the further advantage that it can he made by the manutacturer of tires whereas in the case oi? me tallic cores and sand cores special equipment is required which is not ordinarily available to tire manufacturers.

The contractibility of the core above referred to is one oi the important features of the invention and by virtue oi this characteristic oi the resilient core, the act or I pulling the latter endwise redncesitg grosssectional RIQitti'XSHCl] an extent that it is slightly separated from the inner surface at? the vulcanized tire and hence can be easily \\i th (l raw n While IJhaVe described with great particularity, particular steps in the method of manufacturing a tire such as herein disclosed and the particular apparatus for carrying' out this method, it is nut to he eonstrueil that l am limited thereto as changes and modifications may be made by those skilled in the art without departure from the invention as defined in the appended elain'is.

What I claim is 1. 1n the manufacture nf tires, the method which (OllHlEtS in assembling the tire on'a rim con'iprising two parts with a space he'- tween them, inserting a semi-solid rubber core to retain the shape of the cavity in the tire .during the subsequent steps, vulcamzine the lengthwise and which in tire \rith'said core in place and stretching the core to alter its cross-sectional area to facilitate its removal from the tire.

2. An apparatus for use in connection with the manufacture of tires comprising a core which is of substantially circular shape cross-section is of the shape desired forthe interior of the tire, and adapted when pulled lengthwise to con tract in cross seetien so as to tree it from the surrounding tire.

3. .In the manufacture of tires the method rchich consists in molding the same about a cure of resilient material adapted when pulled lengthwise to contract in cross-sew tinn, and pulling said core endwise to cause such comractinn and to separate it from the molded tire and reinore it. i

In witness whereof, I have hereunto signed my name.

HARE Y lVILLSl-LUV. 

